Your Responsibilities

UAF Communication by Email

UAF uses email to communicate with students on many important matters. Email is often the only way some information is distributed, so it is important that you regularly check your university email address or forward mail from your UAF address to an address you check frequently. The university automatically assigns each student an official UAF email account when the student enrolls (except students whose primary registration is through Bristol Bay, Chukchi, Interior Alaska, Kuskokwim or Northwest campuses). If you have multiple UAF email accounts, you should forward them to the one you check most often. You are responsible for knowing -- and, when appropriate, acting on -- the contents of all university communications sent to your official UAF email account.

All notifications regarding waitlisted courses will be sent to your student preferred email address. To receive these important notifications, be sure your email is current and you have selected your preferred student email at UAOnline: select "Personal Identification" tab, then click on "Update Student Preferred Email Address."

If you want to receive university communications at a different email address, you need to forward email from your assigned UAF account to an email address of your choice. You can easily do this online at www.alaska.edu/google/faqs/top/.

Keep Your Mailing and Email Addresses Up-To-Date

To receive information about early registration for the next semester, and to receive other important information, be sure your current addresses are updated in the Office of Admissions and the Registrar. Your current mailing address may be updated on the web at UAOnline or through the Office of Admissions and the Registrar. To forward your email address, see the paragraph above.

Attendance

Registration entitles you to a seat in the classes you want. However, you must begin attending classes on the first day of instruction or you may lose your place, regardless of whether or not you have paid tuition and fees. Not attending class and not paying tuition and fees will not remove your financial obligation to the university. If you do not plan to attend, you must drop your classes within the 100 percent refund period to avoid assessment of tuition and fees. The university may drop you from your classes for nonpayment.

Students applying for graduation will be provided an official degree audit evaluation once graduation application processing begins.

Student Code of Conduct

As with all members of the university community, the university requires students to conduct themselves honestly and responsibly, and to respect the rights of others. Conduct that unreasonably interferes with the learning environment or that violates the rights of others is prohibited by the standards and guidelines described in university regulation and UAF rules and procedures, collectively referred to as the Student Code of Conduct, or code. Students and student organizations will be responsible for ensuring that they and their guests comply with the code while on property owned or controlled by the university or at activities authorized by the university. The entire student code of conduct, including prohibited conduct and sanctions, is online.

Vital Services

Blackboard

Blackboard is the university's learning management system that gives students and faculty the ability to participate in classes delivered solely online and/or the flexibility to use online materials and activities to complement face-to-face teaching. UAF eLearning & Distance Education courses are offered through Blackboard and may use other technology to enhance course content delivery. Blackboard makes it possible for instructors to provide students with course materials, discussion boards, virtual chat rooms, online quizzes, an academic resource center and more. Using Blackboard, instructors can provide students with resources such as lecture notes, PowerPoint slide presentations or class handouts. If you're enrolled in a course that uses Blackboard, be sure to find out how it will be used. For more information about Blackboard, please visit http://classes.uaf.edu. For Blackboard-related questions, please call the OIT Support Center at 907-450-8300 or helpdesk@alaska.edu, or UAF eLearning & Distance Education at 907-479-3444 or uaf-elearning@alaska.edu.

Bookstore

The Bookstore is located in the second and first floor of Constitution Hall. Products available include textbooks, UAF clothing, insignia gift items, general books, study aids, school and art supplies, calculators, snacks and sundries.

Bookstore hours

Monday-Friday, 7:45 a.m.-6 p.m.

Summer hours: Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m.

Please visit www.uaf.edu/bookstore/ or www.uaftext.com for the most up-to-date store special hours.

How to buy textbooks

You can browse and buy your textbooks by visiting the Text Bookstore located on the first floor of Constitution Hall or by visiting the website www.uaftext.com. In addition to new and used textbooks, many titles are now available for rent or as e-books to help save our students money. Please ask your bookstore associate for more information on these options.

The Bookstore website (www.uaf.edu/bookstore/ or www.uaftext.com) has instructions on how to order your textbooks. You can order your books online and pick them up in the store for free or have them shipped directly to you. We ship all online orders via U.S. Postal Service or FedEx, depending on your shipping address. Most orders going to Fairbanks, Anchorage, Juneau and the Lower 48 can ship FedEx. All orders going to other parts of Alaska and to post office boxes must be shipped by the USPS, and different shipping rates will apply.

Current UAF Catalog

Disability Services

UAF is committed to equal access for students with disabilities. Students experiencing a disability should contact the Disability Services office, 208 Whitaker Building, by phone at 909-474-5655, or on the website www.uaf.edu/disability/. Accommodations are determined through an interactive process that includes the completed application, the documentation of the disability and the essential requirements of the course. Academic accommodations are free of charge and available to eligible students enrolled for at least 1 credit. Accessible living accommodations are available to eligible individuals through the Residence Life program.

How To Get Your UAF Grades

Provided you do not have holds on your account, you can access your unofficial transcript, midterm and final grades at UAOnline.

Select "Midterm Grades," "Final Grades" or "Academic Transcript." The midterm and final grade options will require you to select the term of interest. If a term is not listed, no grades have been posted for you for that term. The "Academic Transcript" option will require that you select the level before submitting. For example, if you are looking for your undergraduate Fairbanks record, you would select "Undergraduate-UAF" and then click on the submit button.

Student Identification

The PolarExpress card is your permanent, official university identification card. It is more than an ID card. You can deposit money in your PolarExpress card balance and use it to pay for goods at all Dining Services locations, vending machines, photocopiers, the Wood Center counter and the Bookstore. You will use your PolarExpress card for:

Photo identification.

Dining services.

Residence hall access.

Library access.

Student labs access.

Photocopiers and laser printers.

Vending machine access.

Student Recreation Center.

Student Health and Counseling Center.

Admission to university events.

Voting.

Fairbanks North Star Borough bus access (MACS).

Students can get a PolarExpress card at the Bursar's Office, located on the first floor of Signers' Hall. Please bring valid photo identification when you stop in to have your picture taken for your new PolarExpress card.

Validity

Your PolarExpress card is valid for two years after your last affiliation with the university. All privileges are eliminated upon departure from the university, with the exception of Bear Bucks. Holders who return to the university system within two years and no longer have their PolarExpress card must buy a replacement card.

Returning students

Your PolarExpress card will be updated when you register. There is no need to come to the PolarExpress office to have it activated. If your card does not have your UA ID number printed in the lower right-hand corner, please bring it to the PolarExpress office to exchange it for a new one at no charge. Cards that do not display a UA ID number will no longer work in the PolarExpress system.

Replacement cards

There is a $10 fee for a replacement card. If your card is lost, stolen or damaged, you must report it immediately by calling 907-474-7384 to deactivate your card. Replacement cards can be obtained at the Bursar's Office, on the first floor of Signers' Hall. If you find your card after reporting it lost, you must come to our office to reactivate it.

Student Information Privacy and Social Security Number Information

To protect your privacy, the University of Alaska will assign you a student ID number that is different from your social security number. Your student ID number, rather than your SSN, will be used to identify your educational records. You will be able to access your new student ID number when you log on to UAOnline.

UA is required to obtain your SSN for federal financial aid and tax reporting purposes. The Privacy Act Notice, Section 6109 of the Internal Revenue Code, requires you to give your correct SSN to persons who must file information returns with the IRS to report certain information. The IRS uses the numbers for identification purposes and to help verify the accuracy of your tax return. For more information please refer to IRS code 6050S.

Your SSN is required to use the secure web admissions application. (This will help us avoid duplication of student records.) If you do not wish to provide your SSN using the web application, you may download, complete and mail an undergraduate or graduate student application to the Office of Admissions and the Registrar, P.O. Box 757480, Fairbanks, AK 99775-7480.

Testing Services

As a national test center, the UAF Testing Services office contracts and administers paper and pencil and computer-based exams. We advise UAF students, prospective students and the community about national testing for college admissions and placements in addition to career and professional certification.

Our office administers a wide range of testing and assessment instruments used for admission, awarding of college credits, career and life planning, and professional certification. We coordinate private proctoring and credit by examination locally and through the College Level Examination Program (CLEP).

The ACCUPLACER, ALEKS and ASSET tests cover basic skill areas of reading, writing and math. They are used to help determine readiness for specific course work. All entering associate degree students, certificate students and students planning to take a 100-level written communications course are required to provide test scores from the ACCUPLACER, COMPASS, ASSET, ACT or SAT tests. All students planning to take a MATH, DEVM or course with a math prerequisite will need to take the ALEKS placement test. This test is unproctored and available online.

UAF Testing Services also offers the following entrance/licensure and accreditation exams on computer: CLEP, CPA, DSST, GRE, GMAT, HOBET, LCE, MAT, MCAT, PAXRN, PRAXIS, TOEFL and others. Registration in advance is required. In addition, Testing Services is an ETS, ACT and Prometric center, hosting a variety of other computer-based tests.

ACT residual test schedule: For students who have not submitted scores from either the ACT or SAT national or posted tests, ACT residual tests will be offered as follows:

For fall 2016 -Monday, August 22 and Thursday, August 25, at noon. While no formal registration is required for ACT residual testing, students need to notify Testing Services of their intent to test. Students should arrive by 11:45 am to allow time to complete paperwork, and bring $60.00 test fee (in exact change), picture identification, and a calculator (please visit www.act.org to view acceptable calculators).

Disabled students may be entitled to special testing arrangements. For more information about services offered and registration materials, visit Testing Services at 211 Gruening Building, call (907) 474-5277 or email uaf-testing-dept@alaska.edu. Walk-in hours are 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday-Friday.

Veterans' and Military Services

UAF makes a firm commitment to veterans and the active military communities in the Fairbanks area. Veterans' Services includes staff members in Financial Aid, the Office of Admissions and the Registrar, Career Services, and the Veterans' Resource Center who focus on veterans and their families. We are here to help you with any challenges you encounter while transitioning from a military to an academic environment.

Who can use the services?

All veterans -- active duty, reserve, guard, separated and retired, and their dependents who are exploring the academic opportunities available to them at UAF -- are eligible to use UAF services for veterans. The Veterans' Resource Center is open to all veterans and dependents seeking help regardless of their academic intent or institutional affiliation.

The UAF Financial Aid Office helps veterans, service members and eligible dependents with paperwork for degree and certificate programs. As a liaison with the Department of Veterans Affairs, the school certifying official monitors the academic progress of eligible students in compliance with Title 38, Code of Federal Regulations.

The University of Alaska Fairbanks is an affirmative action/equal opportunity employer and educational institution and is a part of the University of Alaska system.
UAF does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, creed, national origin, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, veteran status, physical or mental disability, marital status, changes in marital status, pregnancy or parenthood, genetic code or retaliation.
This policy affects employment policies, as well as the delivery of educational services. Contact information, applicable laws, and complaint procedures are included on UAF's statement of non-discrimination.